Let the Sun Shine

What a difference the sun makes! San Francisco took on a whole new look when the sun came out today. We spent exactly $1.50 each on transportation today, which meant we did an awful lot of walking once again.

We opted out of the continental breakfast of a cold croissant and a banana and a dialog with Klaus at our B&B and instead walked down Fillmore to where it intersects California, an area teeming with shops and places to eat. We found a delightful breakfast at Trio’s, a Japanese restaurant which fortunately lacked the greasy hash browns and bacon which would have otherwise tempted me. Great coffee and lots of it.


The next shot includes the beautiful Japanese woman who was our cook and server.

We actually spent time shopping where we both found things to enjoy, a rarity for my husband who buys everything off the Internet to avoid stores at all cost. And yes, Pauline, we did find Bittersweet, a wonderful chocolate store. Here are some random shots from our morning on Fillmore.

This store features rubber ducks and soap. It even has a "soap bar" where you can try different soaps out before you buy them.

There are cute well-behaved dogs everywhere. (I miss Jake, but his "camp counselor" for this visit sends glowing reports, except that he is terrorizing her cats.)

And there are are stores dedicated to dogs -- clothes, beds, toys, everything canine.

Just one of many brands of coffee, the most revered drink in this city.

An artsy place where I bought a beautiful little blown glass pitcher.

A much easier way to get around than walking or biking.

We decided to take advantage of the sunny day and walk over to Alamo Square, the site of the most famous skyline shot of San Francisco, featuring the “Six Sisters,” the beautiful Victorian houses in the foreground.

Here are a few other shots from this neighborhood.




We then took the bus on Geary to the end of the line so we could see the Pacific and have lunch and a drink in the beautiful Cliff House overlooking the ocean. Despite the most recent oil spill, the beach is still spectacular.

A would--be tight-rope walker practicing in Sutro Park. He offered us a chance to try it, but we politely declined his offer.

The magnificent Pacific Ocean.


So what were the lessons learned today?
(1) Public transportation is a lot cheaper here than in DC. With transfers and a non-working ticket machine, we managed to ride 6 buses for one fare.
(2) This city is crazy about coffee. There are probably more coffee shops per capita than any other type of establishment.
(3) Pets reign supreme. Dogs are everywhere and there are many specialty stores for pets.
(4) SF is a melting pot of cultures. It’s so much fun to find ethnic neighborhoods for multiple nationalities.
(5) The people here want you to love their city. A park ranger jumped out of his car to give us a pamphlet about an area along the coast which is under development.

And tomorrow? This visit is totally unstructured, so the weather and our mood will decide!